#5e

Wyatt's Rangers - NPC Heroes for Your Post Apocalypse Game

Mark S. Cookman

Nov 10, 2017
2 min

Wyatt's Rangers - NPC Heroes for Your Post Apocalypse Game

Today's post is a little different than most that appear here, although it stays within our current post apocalyptic theme. I don't create many NPC's to share, as I feel that is something that each DM/GM must do on their own. Wyatt Ferris is a different case, let me explain why. This week I encountered the following post on one of the Facebook groups that I follow: I was moved by this because I am a father and I wanted to help in whatever small way I could. I created this NPC

291 views0 comments

5 More Robotic Monsters or Minions for D&D 5e.

Mark S. Cookman

Sep 22, 2017
5 min

5 More Robotic Monsters or Minions for D&D 5e.

If you haven't seen my previous post, 5 Robotic Monsters or Minions for D&D 5e, then you should probably check it out. It will explain why this blog has suddenly become about robots instead of pirates. Sorry for my long delay in posting, but as many of you know, my family and I live on a boat. Well, we were right in the path of Hurricane Irma. We have survived it with no damage to our vessel and only some minor losses to our personal electronics due to a massive leak that occ

1,524 views0 comments

5 Robotic Monsters or Minions for D&D 5e

Mark S. Cookman

Aug 25, 2017
5 min

5 Robotic Monsters or Minions for D&D 5e

"OK, WTF? Robots for D&D 5e?!? Why would you waste your time making such things?" This is what my brain has been screaming at me since I came up with the idea for this blog post. The short answer is because I needed them for a game that I am running. Why I chose to share them with everyone is still a mystery to even me. Probably because I heartily believe that variety is the spice of life and this is decidedly different from the stuff that I normally post. I wish that I could

10,851 views0 comments

20 Spell Components Found in the Daerkwood

Mark S. Cookman

Sep 29, 2016
5 min

20 Spell Components Found in the Daerkwood

Today's post is a transition from the orc series into some more Halloween-themed posts. Given the orc clans and other terrible monsters that live there, why does anyone ever venture into the Daerkwood? This same question can be applied to any dark and spooky place. There are numerous secrets hidden within the Daerkwood to attract adventurers, but the most-common reason people go there is for the components used in powerful magics. The Daerkwood is an ancient forest steeped in

566 views0 comments

Mark S. Cookman

Sep 23, 2016
6 min

What Makes Good Orcs Go Bad?

This is the 14th post in the orc series and probably the last for a while. I promise you that we have not seen the last of the orcs, however the release of Orcs of the Moon Skull Clan is being delayed for a re-work involving more material and some custom art. Look for the orcs to finally come out around the holiday season. The art today comes from Publisher's Choice Quality Stock Art (c) Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games. Rick is one of the artists that I hope to get some piece

222 views0 comments

The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables is Now Available!

Mark S. Cookman

Jul 1, 2016
1 min

The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables is Now Available!

This GM Accessory is compatible with the 5th edition of the World's Most Popular Fantasy RPG. Are you looking for simple yet detailed rules for ships of all sorts? Congratulations! You've found them. The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables Includes . . . Rules for both Simple Ships and Sailing Ships 27 Different Tables and Charts 2 Different Ship Critical Hit Tables Rules for Ship Speeds and Travelling Times Rules for Sighting and Encounter Ranges Rules for

175 views0 comments

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 21, 2016
3 min

20 Bits of Flotsam and Jetsam

In keeping with the theme that I started last week, today's post is also nautical in nature. This time around we will be looking at objects found floating in the water. Floating debris (as it is defined in the Random Encounters at Sea table on p. 118 of the 5e DMG) actually comes in two types - flotsam and jetsam. Flotsam is the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea. Jetsam is unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from

376 views0 comments

20 Things That Could Go Wrong with a Tinker Gnome's Invention

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 10, 2016
5 min

20 Things That Could Go Wrong with a Tinker Gnome's Invention

Let's get something straight from the beginning, I love gnomes. My first ever AD&D (1st Edition) character was a gnome. So don't get the idea that I hate gnomes just because I created a table about their strange tinker machines going crazy. I do have an ulterior motive for it, but more on that later. First, let's discuss tinkering. According to the PHB (p. 37), a tinker gnome can spend 1 hour and 10 gold to construct a Tiny clockwork device with AC5 and 1 hp. Three examples

1,123 views0 comments

20 Magical Weapons That Aren't Swords At All

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 9, 2016
4 min

20 Magical Weapons That Aren't Swords At All

Today's post follows the same basic theme as Tuesday's with the exception that the list will contain no swords at all. Just like last time, I am trying to encourage DM's to expand their minds when it comes to giving out magical weapons. The point of this blog entry is not to hand you 20 "perfect" magic weapons ready to drop into your campaign, the point is to get you thinking about different kinds of magical weapons in your campaign and how they came to be. If you manage to p

9,381 views0 comments

20 Magical Swords That Aren't Just Longswords

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 7, 2016
4 min

20 Magical Swords That Aren't Just Longswords

One of my pet peeves about D&D is that the magical swords are nearly always European longswords. It seems as if Excalibur was the perfect model for ALL magical swords ever to be created. Personally, I like to mix things up. I like to use many different types of swords in my campaign worlds, just as there are many different types of swords among all the cultures of the Earth. Diversity is the spice of life and RPG's should NEVER be bland. As with all of my lists, I'm not just

9,757 views0 comments

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 3, 2016
1 min

Pawnbrokers is Available Now!

This GM Accessory is compatible with the 5th edition of the World's Most Popular Fantasy RPG. Pawnbrokers Includes . . . Rules for Pawning Items for Gold Personalities and Stats for 3 Pawnbrokers 6 Adventure Seeds involving Pawn Shops 13 Ready-To-Use Magic Items A Map of a Pawn Shop Plus More. This Product Contains Adult Situations and Content – This material is for mature players only! Keep Black Shark Enterprises in mind for your RPG needs. #dmadvice #NewRelease #5e #gmadvi

48 views0 comments

Mark S. Cookman

Mar 14, 2016
6 min

10 Diabolically Cursed Magic Items

Welcome back to One-Armed Sal's Nautical Trade Emporium and Pawn Shop. Today's magical items do not identify as cursed because they do provide a positive magical effect, yet the cost to access the magic is far higher than most care to pay. Sal openly admits that these are some pretty shady pawned items that are now available for sale because their loans are in default. His prices are low, but he ain't a charity. Sal doesn't do buy-backs or returns so if you don't like what yo

1,207 views0 comments

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 25, 2016
4 min

10 Minor Magic Items That Rock

Honestly, this post should be entitled "10 Minor Magic Items That Are Rocks", but I shortened it for at least 2/3 of a pun on today's content. Not all magical items are flashy and powerful, some are just simple items that help out in minor ways. Today, One-Armed Sal is having a sale on some cold, hard magic items that you or your PC's might like. Take a look and let Sal know if anything strikes your fancy. Soup Rock -- A roundish common looking stone approximately 2" in diame

1,019 views0 comments

Bard College of the Shanty Master for 5e

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 19, 2016
2 min

Bard College of the Shanty Master for 5e

Today, I decided to post a link back to a piece that I did for Tribality a while back. There are two reasons for this. First, I think that you should be aware of ALL of the great gaming resources on Tribality and second, because I am working on something special. So, if you have a 5e Bard character and you are looking for a different college, then you might like the link below. However, I encourage you to check out Tribality, even if you don't give one song about sea-faring B

380 views0 comments

One-Armed Sal's Nautical Trade Emporium and Pawn Shop

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 16, 2016
3 min

One-Armed Sal's Nautical Trade Emporium and Pawn Shop

Do your PC's need a (reasonably) trustworthy place to buy spell components, potions, and minor magic items? Do they need a fence to sell arcane items to? Perhaps they just need a person to cast spells (like identify) for them. Maybe they need a contact into the seedy underworld of the docks or maybe they need a low-level quest giver or a place to learn of rumors or arcane lore. Perhaps they could use a 30 day loan on some magic item that they possess. You could also use Sal a

73 views0 comments

The Island of Lost 5e Monsters: The Baluchitherium and The Dragonne

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 10, 2016
2 min

The Island of Lost 5e Monsters: The Baluchitherium and The Dragonne

Today, we are returning to the Island of Lost 5e Monsters to see what other beasts from the days of 1e yore we can find. Here are where the other 5e monsters that we've already found are kept. This time I thought that we would go after some "big boys", so to speak. Without further delay, here are the Baluchitherium and the Dragonne for your pleasure and your PC's torture. Baluchitherium Rare Number Appearing: 1-3 AC: 15 HP: 218 (14d20+78) 1 Attack Trample +9 to hit 20 Dmg (3

498 views0 comments

20 Critical Hits or Fumbles for Characters Fighting in a Ship to Ship Battle

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 5, 2016
6 min

20 Critical Hits or Fumbles for Characters Fighting in a Ship to Ship Battle

Creating realistic shipboard combat can be a challenge for any GM. Every D&D combat has its own unique features, whether it be terrain, monsters, or magical elements, but getting players to feel like they are fighting and moving on a ship when they are rolling dice and crunching chips around the table in your gaming room is a real challenge. I use a combination of elements to some effect, but be warned. There's no magic charm here; these are all cheap tricks. You must have yo

296 views0 comments

The Island of Lost 5e Monsters: The Axebeak and The Catoblepas

Mark S. Cookman

Feb 3, 2016
3 min

The Island of Lost 5e Monsters: The Axebeak and The Catoblepas

A couple of weeks ago, I made a post here concerning some old school monsters that did not appear in the D&D 5e Monster Manual. I have decided to make this a semi-regular feature of the blog, so let us return to the misty shores of the Island of Lost 5e Monsters to see what we can find. Ah, look there, towards the swamp. Two perfect examples of lost monsters, the axebeak and the catoblepas. Let's row in a little closer to get a better look at them, but quietly. We wouldn't w

1,111 views0 comments

Alternate Sailor Backgrounds for D&D 5e: The Explorer / Deep Water Sailor

Mark S. Cookman

Jan 29, 2016
5 min

Alternate Sailor Backgrounds for D&D 5e: The Explorer / Deep Water Sailor

For my own D&D 5e campaign, which is based mostly upon the high seas of various worlds, one background for a generic sailor just didn't work. On the coast, everyone sails. Because there are many different types of sailors and nautical personalities, I felt that there needed to be more variety than just one generic sailor so I created five additional nautical backgrounds to supplement the original sailor/pirate. They are merchant sailor/smuggler, marine, deep water sailor/expl

3,090 views0 comments

Alternate Sailor Backgrounds for D&D 5e: The Jack Tar

Mark S. Cookman

Jan 28, 2016
7 min

Alternate Sailor Backgrounds for D&D 5e: The Jack Tar

399 views0 comments

BLACK SHARK ENTERPRISES